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Famine, Africa
42. Mr. Harry Greenway : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assistance his Department is currently giving to relieve famine in Africa ; and if he will make a statement.
Mrs. Chalker : We have committed £152 million in emergency assistance to Africa since the beginning of 1989. On 15 April, I announced a new pledge of assistance worth £33 million. Most of this will go to the Horn of Africa, where the famine is most acute. It will be in addition to the £33 million we have already provided to the region since last September.
The Gulf
43. Mr. McFall : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what financial assistance the Government are providing for Jordan and other neighbouring states affected by the Gulf war.
Mrs. Chalker : As our share of the EC special allocation to countries affected by the Gulf crisis we are providing £20 million to Jordan, £23 million each to Egypt and Turkey, £8 million to the occupied territories and £21 million to Israel. Since the invasion of Kuwait the United Kingdom has provided £18.65 million in humanitarian assistance through bilateral and EC channels. In addition we have committed £21.7 million to alleviate the plight of the Iraqi refugees. In the current financial year we expect our normal bilateral assistance to amount to £5.25 million for Jordan, £11 million for Egypt, £5 million for Turkey and some £1.5 million for the occupied territories.
Alternative Crops
44. Mr. Spearing : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what approaches have been made to the Overseas Development Administration in respect of alternative commercial crops in Commonwealth countries whose economies rely significantly on the export of sugar and bananas, respectively.
Mrs. Chalker : We are helping the eastern Caribbean
countries--Dominica, Grenada, St. Lucia and St. Vincent--whose economies rely heavily on banana exports, with a number of agricultural diversification projects.
Environment Conference, Brazil
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what financial support will be made available by Her Majesty's Government to (a) delegations from less-developed nations and (b) non-governmental organisations based in the United Kingdom, to assist their attendance at the United Nations conference on environment and development, to be held in Rio De Janeiro in June 1992.
Mrs. Chalker : We have offered £32,000 to the voluntary fund established to help finance participation by developing countries in the conference and its preparatory
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process. The United Nations General Assembly has not yet decided on the participation of non-governmental organisations in the conference.HOUSE OF COMMONS
Victoria Tower
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Lord President of the Council what is his most recent estimate of the cost of the scaffolding erected at the Victoria Tower.
NATIONAL FINANCE
Building Societies
Mr. Peter Bottomley : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list (a) the building societies which will not be repaid and (b) the amounts of tax involved, under the proposals referred to in paragraph 4.22 of the 1991 Financial Statement.
Mr. Maude : It would not be appropriate to provide information about the tax affairs of individual taxpayers.
Mr. Peter Bottomley : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) to what extent the view of Inland Revenue that the disputed extra tax paid by building societies does not in fact involve the payment of extra tax, is based on the ground that building societies account on an accruals basis while government accounts on a cash basis ; (2) pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Eltham of 15 April Official Report, columns 9-11, about the way building societies account for tax, whether his answer was based on the premise that the Inland Revenue would not receive extra tax or that building societies would not pay extra tax.
Mr. Maude : The 1986 change from the old basis on which building societies accounted for tax annually on interest accruing in their accounting year to the present system under which they account quarterly for tax on interest and dividends paid does not mean societies have paid extra tax. The change affected the time of payments, not their amounts. Interest and dividends paid during transitional periods have been subjected to a single charge to tax.
Mr. Peter Bottomley : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the occasions on which the Government publicly acknowledged the effect that a judgment adverse to the Inland Revenue in the Woolwich Equitable building society case might have on other building societies ; and what the likely effect was judged to be on each such occasion.
Mr. Maude : My right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer referred to this matter in this year's Budget statement. There has been no previous occasion of a similar Government statement on this matter.
Mr. Peter Bottomley : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will give details of where the £250 million for 1986 transitional provisions : building societies, shown in table 4.1 of the "Financial Statement and Budget Report" 1991-92, comes from.
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Mr. Maude : The figure is the estimated amount, net of corporation tax, which will not be repaid to various building societies following my right hon. Friend's Budget proposal contained in clause 50 of the Finance Bill.Separate Taxation
Mr. Peter Bottomley : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether it is a requirement for the tax affairs of a wife and a husband to be dealt with by separate tax offices when one does not earn money outside the home.
Mr. Maude : The tax offices dealing with the tax affairs of a wife and a husband are, following the introduction of independent taxation, determined separately by reference to the nature of their respective incomes.
Interest Rates
Mr. David Nicholson : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what information he has on reduced interest rates in European Community countries which discriminate in favour of (a) small businesses and (b) farming businesses ; whether such arrangements will be permitted in the single European market ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Maude : Information on state aids in the Community, including in the small firms and agricultural sectors, is published in the European Commission's reviews of state aids in the Community. All state aid schemes are notifiable by member states to the Commission ; the Commission then decides whether they are compatible with the treaty of Rome.
Judicial Review
Mr. Peter Bottomley : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) how many times in the last three years the Inland Revenue has experienced judicial review ; how often it lost ; and how often building society tax was involved ;
(2) whether he has decided that all future potential gainers from judicial reviews of Inland Revenue decisions must make their own applications concurrently.
Mr. Maude : There have been 15 applications for judicial review involving the Inland Revenue in the last three years, of which four have been granted. Only one application involved building society interest. It is for individual taxpayers to decide whether or not to apply for judicial review of an Inland Revenue decision.
Foundation for Sport and the Arts
Mr. Ken Hargreaves : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the £40 million to be collected by the Pools Promoters Association for the proposed Foundation for Sport and the Arts will be taken from the total money now allocated to the payment of prizes.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : This is a matter for the pools promoters, but I understand that the proposal is that a proportion of the total remittance submitted by clients will be held in trust for the foundation.
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Gross Domestic Product
Mr. Denzil Davies : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what percentage of the European Community total gross domestic product was, at the latest available date, accounted for by (a) the United Kingdom, (b) France, (c) Germany and (d) Italy.
Mr. Norman Lamont : Data for GDP in the European Community are published by the OECD in "Main Economic Indicators".
Mr. Denzil Davies : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what percentage of gross domestic product was accounted for by interest expenses in (a) the United Kingdom, (b) France and (c) Germany, respectively, in the last three years.
Mr. Norman Lamont : Data for interest payments for these countries are not available. Data for receipts and payments of investment income are published by the IMF in "Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook".
Value Added Tax
Mr. Denzil Davies : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the rates of value added tax charged in (a) France and (b) Germany.
Mr. Norman Lamont : The value added tax rates charged are :
|France |Germany
|Per cent.|Per cent.
----------------------------------------
Standard |18.6 |14.0
Increased |22.0 |-
Reduced |2.1, 5.5 |7.0
Earnings
Mr. Cousins : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many full- time, part-time, male and female workers earn below the PAYE threshold in the northern region and in each of the counties within the region.
Mr. Maude : The information requested is not available.
Services Sector
Mr. Denzil Davies : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what percentage of the total amount of the wages and salaries of the economies of (a) the United Kingdom, (b) France and (c) Germany is accounted for by the wages and salaries of the services sector, respectively, in the latest available year.
Mr. Norman Lamont : The latest available figures for these countries analysed by industry of employment are shown under the heading "Compensation of employees" in the annual OECD publication "National Accounts Detailed Tables Volume II (1976-1988)" of which copies are available in the Library of the House--see pages (a) 534 (b) 232 (c) 259.
DEFENCE
Aldermaston and Burghfield Housing
Mr. Rogers : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what refurbishments and repairs are being carried out to Ministry of Defence houses at the AWE, Aldermaston and
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Burghfield common estate ; and when he anticipates these houses to be up to the standards set down for council and housing association properties.Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : The current ongoing maintenance programme at AWE Aldermaston and Burghfield covers both refurbishment and repair. The cost of maintaining the stock of the 775 civilian houses and flats at these locations will be £1,400,000 in the financial year 1991-92.
On the matter of standards, the Ministry of Defence is not a housing authority and not in consequence bound by the standards of the authorities referred to. Housing is provided at AWE for both essential Ministry of Defence police staff and to facilitate recruitment and retention of other staff. The houses are all maintained to an acceptable standard.
Main Battle Tanks
Mr. Clelland : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many new main battle tanks he will be ordering to replace Chieftain tanks.
Mr. Alan Clark : No decision on numbers of equipment for our future main battle tank fleet has yet been taken.
MV Antares
Mr. Foulkes : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he received the draft report on the sinking of the Antares ; for what reasons he has not yet been able to publish the findings ; when he expects to publish the report or its findings ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : The report of the Royal Navy board of inquiry is being considered as a matter of priority. However, the report is very comprehensive and we have an obligation to all those concerned to ensure that the full legal and other implications of its findings are thoroughly studied. A summary of the findings will be released as soon as this process has been completed.
TRADE AND INDUSTRY
Clothing Manufacturing Industry
Mr. Cummings : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what measures he intends to take to assist the clothing manufacturing industry in the Easington constituency during the present recession.
Mr. Leigh : There are no plans to introduce assistance measures for the clothing manufacturing industry in the Easington constituency. Firms in the constituency are eligible for assistance under the regional selective assistance scheme as well as the Department's R and D and enterprise initiative consultancy measures.
Trade Descriptions Act
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he will bring forward proposals to implement the recommendation of the Office of Fair Trading concerning bringing under the Trade Descriptions Act the claims made in letters from timeshare companies.
Mr. Leigh : The amendments to the Trade Descriptions Act proposed as a result of the current review, including
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those arising from the Director General of Fair Trading's report on timeshare will be implemented as soon as parliamentary time is available.Tootal Group
Mr. Brandon-Bravo : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether the Office of Fair Trading is considering the practice of companies capitalising pension fund surpluses in order to establish a higher rating or obtain higher funding on its consideration of the takeover bid for the Tootal Group plc ; and whether he will make a statement.
Mr. Redwood : In reaching his decision on whether to refer the proposed acquisition by Coats Viyella of Tootal Group to the MMC my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State will take into consideration the advice of the Director General of Fair Trading. The director general's advice takes all relevant issues into account.
Iraq
Mr. Wilshire : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he was asked to approve British entries on the list of specially designated nationals of Iraq issued by the United States Government on 1 April.
Chlorofluorocarbons
Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry in what ways he has monitored and encouraged the progress of the refrigeration industry to move away from CFCs ; and what study he has made of acoustic refrigeration.
Mr. Leigh : My Department regularly meets producers and users of chlorofluorocarbons and other ozone-depleting substances to discuss alternative options for when production of these substances is phased out over the next few years. These contacts include the development and use of substitutes in refrigeration. My Department participates in relevant United Kingdom conferences and international fora and last year published through HMSO a study commissioned from independent consultants "CFCs and Halons : Alternatives and the Scope for Recovery for Recycling and Destruction".
The Department offers support to industry for development of environmentally cleaner technologies, for example through the enterprise initiative and the environmental technology innovation scheme, the environmental management options scheme and Euroenviron. It has made no formal study nor received any project proposal relating to acoustic refrigeration. However, I understand that while this technique may be being developed for use in space, the view of the refrigeration industry is that the high engineering standards it requires currently render it economically unviable for more general application.
Manufactured Goods
Mr. Denzil Davies : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what percentage of the total output of manufactured goods of the EC was, at the latest available date, accounted for by (a) the United Kingdom, (b) France, (c) Germany and (d) Italy.
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Mr. Sainsbury : The information is in the table.
EC output<1> of manufacturing<2> products in 1987
|Output |Percentage of
|(ecus million)|total EC out-
|put
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
United Kingdom |135,306 |15.3
France |153,449 |17.4
Federal Republic of Germany<3> |287,196 |32.5
Italy |152,287 |17.2
<1> Output is defined as gross value added at market prices.
<2> NACE classification-section 3.
<3> Federal Republic of Germany as in 1987.
Data source: EUROSTAT.
Environment Conferences
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether his Department was represented at the expert seminar on packaging and the environment held in Sweden on 7 to 8 February.
Mr. Leigh : Yes, my Department was represented and presented a paper to the seminar which was arranged in the framework of the United Nations Environment Programme/International Energy Office cleaner production programme.
Clean Production Technologies
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether Her Majesty's Government will undertake a collaborative initiative with the Industry and Environment Office of the United Nations environment programme on clean technologies for production.
Mr. Leigh : Her Majesty's Government are already participating in the United Nations Environment Programme/International Energy Office's cleaner production programme. In September 1990, the Government hosted a United Nations Environment Programme seminar at Canterbury on the subject of "Cleaner Production". The seminar was opened by my noble Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Environment ; officials both from my Department and the Department of the Environment also participated.
Foundries
Mr. Crowther : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what complaints he has received since the beginning of 1990 about state subsidies to companies in the foundry industry in other European Community countries and in Japan ; and what action has been taken in connection therewith.
Mr. Sainsbury : One complaint has been received from a British company about alleged state subsidies to the iron foundry industries in France, Italy and Spain. My Department raised the matter with the European Commission which is responsible for monitoring state aids in the Community. I understand the Commission is pursuing the matter and is in contact with the company concerned.
Cornish Tin Mining
Ms. Quin : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if his Department had any discussions with Carnon Holdings about the effect of the withdrawal of his
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Department's funds for tin mining on the holding of a 90-day consultation period between the company and the work force employed in the tin mines.Mr. Leigh : The content of the numerous discussions with Carnon Holdings Limited is confidential. The terms and conditions of employment in Carnon, including redundancy payments and pension rights, are a matter for the company.
Petroleum Coke
Mr. Speller : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many complaints he has received about the use of petroleum coke in domestic fireplaces ; whether the sulphur emissions of this fuel conform to the recommended levels ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Leigh [holding answer 18 April 1991] : My Department has received representations from 13 organisations seeking controls on the supply of petroleum coke for domestic use. We have received very few complaints from users of this fuel.
The maximum sulphur content of fuels authorised for use in smoke control areas is 2 per cent. I understand that some varieties of petroleum coke have a higher sulphur content.
EDUCATION AND SCIENCE
Evening Standard
Mr. Peter Bottomley : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will obtain for his Department's library a copy of the Evening Standard "London Life" article by Keith Dovkants and Bruce Kemble of 16 April.
Mr. Eggar : The Department regularly purchases the Evening Standard, including the edition referred to. Relevant articles are placed in the Library.
Special Education
Ms. Armstrong : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) if he will list for each of the years from 1984 to 1990 the number of special classes or units in (a) primary schools in each local education authority and express this as a proportion of all primary schools in the local education authority and (b) secondary schools in each local education authority and express this as a proportion of all secondary schools in the local education authority ;
(2) if he will list for each of the years from 1984 to 1990 the number of pupils with statements on the register of special classes in each local education authority (a) spending at least 70 per cent. of their time there and (b) spending less than 70 per cent. of their time in special classes, and express these figures as percentages of children registered in special classes in the local education authority ;
(3) if he will detail for each year from 1984 to 1990 the number of children in each local education authority in England newly receiving special educational provision under a statement in ordinary schools and express this (a) as a percentage of all new statements made by the local education authority in that year and (b) as a percentage of all current statements maintained by the local education authority ;
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(4) if he will detail for each of the years from 1984 to 1990 the number of children under the age of five years with a statement of special educational need in each local education authority in England and express this as a percentage of all children of pre-school age in the local education authority ;(5) if he will detail for each local education authority in England the number of pupils with statements of special educational need recorded as attending maintained and non-maintained special schools and express this (a) as a percentage of all school children in the local education authority and (b) as a percentage of children with a statement in the local education authority, for each of the years from 1983 to 1989 ;
(6) if he will list for each year from 1984 to 1990 the number of children with statements of special educational needs newly placed in special or independent schools by each local education authority in England and express this as a proportion of the total number of new statements made by each local education authority ;
(7) if he will list for each year from 1984 to 1990 the number of children in each local education authority in England transferred from special schools to mainstream schools and express this (a) as a proportion of the special school population in each local education authority and (b) as a proportion of children with statements in the local education authority ;
(8) if he will detail for each of the years from 1984 to 1990 the number of children with statements on the register of ordinary classes in each local education authority in England and express this (a) as a percentage of all children with statements in the local education authority and (b) as a percentage of all pupils in the local education authority ;
(9) if he will list for each year from 1984 to 1990 the number of children in each local education authority in England awaiting the provision specified in their statement and express this (a) as a percentage of all new statements made in that year by the local education authority and (b) as a percentage of all statements maintained by the local education authority.
Mr. Fallon : This information can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
School Heads
Mr. Peter Bottomley : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is his policy on the appointment of school heads without the use of inspectors' reports.
Mr. Eggar : The selection of head teachers is a matter for local education authorities and governing bodies in schools without delegated budgets, and for governing bodies, after considering any advice from the chief education officer, in schools with delegated budgets. In reaching decisions the Government would expect LEAs and schools to take account of all relevant considerations.
Pupil-Teacher Ratios
Mr. Colvin : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will publish in the Official Report pupil-teacher ratios for primary and secondary schools in England and Wales.
Mr. Fallon : The pupil-teacher ratios within maintained primary and secondary schools in England in January
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1990 were 22.0 and 15.3 respectively. Similar information for Wales is the responsibility of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales.Adult Education
Mr. Andrew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will list figures for (a) recurrent and (b) capital spending by the Government on adult education for each year since 1978-79 in (i) cash terms and (ii) real terms indexed so that 1978-79 equals 100.
Mr. Eggar : Central Government expenditure in respect of adult education bodies, REPLAN and PICKUP, is given in the tables. It is not possible to express expenditure in real terms, indexed so that 1978-79 equals 100. Instead the figures are given in cash terms and at 1978-79 prices.
Recurrent expenditure-£ millio
Year |Cash terms|1978-79
|prices
--------------------------------------------
1978-79 |<1>- |<1>-
1979-80 |<1>- |<1>-
1980-81 |<1>- |<1>-
1981-82 |<1>- |<1>-
1982-83 |11.207 |6.909
1983-84 |13.458 |7.930
1984-85 |14.635 |8.208
1985-86 |18.079 |9.616
1986-87 |23.470 |12.-67
1987-88 |23.614 |11.530
1988-89 |27.612 |12.551
1989-90 |22.485 |9.605
1990-91<2> |25.357 |10.050
<1>Expenditure on adult education not
separately identified.
<2>Provisional.
Notes:
1. From 1986-87 onwards, the figures
include grants allocated for
continuing education related to the
development of PICKUP-
type provision by the UGC/UFC and the
NAB/PCFC.
2. Expenditure on REPLAN and PICKUP
includes grants to the
FEU.
3. From 1989-90 onwards, responsibility for
payment of grants to
English universities' extra-mural
departments was transferred
from the Department to the UFC.
4. The expenditure in 1990-91 takes account
of the transfer from
the Department to local education
authorities of some of the
responsibility for funding the English
districts of the WEA.
Capital expenditure
£ million
|Cash terms |1978-79 prices
------------------------------------------------------------
1978-79 |<1>- |<1>-
1979-80 |<1>- |<1>-
1980-81 |<1>- |<1>-
1981-82 |<1>- |<1>-
1982-83 |0.029 |0.018
1983-84 |0.015 |0.009
1984-85 |0.052 |0.029
1985-86 |0.074 |0.039
1986-87 |0.044 |0.023
1987-88 |0.014 |0.007
1988-89 |0.041 |0.019
1989-90 |0.043 |0.018
1990-91 |0.018 |0.007
<1>Capital expenditure not separately identified.
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Expenditure supported Expenditure supported
through education through local education
support grants authority training
grants scheme
£ million £ million
|Cash terms|1978-79 |Cash terms|1978-79
|prices |prices
------------------------------------------------------------------
1978-79 |- |- |- |-
1979-80 |- |- |- |-
1980-81 |- |- |- |-
1981-82 |- |- |- |-
1982-83 |- |- |- |-
1983-84 |- |- |- |-
1984-85 |- |- |- |-
1985-86 |3.011 |1.602 |1.224 |0.651
1986-87 |5.512 |2.834 |1.224 |0.629
1987-88 |4.878 |2.382 |2.030 |0.991
1988-89 |2.646 |1.203 |2.155 |0.980
1989-90 |5.078 |2.169 |3.300 |1.410
<1>1990-91 |3.917 |1.553 |2.682 |1.063
<1> Provisional.
Column 310
Higher Education
Mr. Andrew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what were staff-student ratios at (a) universities, (b) polytechnics and (c) colleges of higher education in each year since 1978- 79.
Mr. Alan Howarth : Data are not available in the form requested for 1978-79. Student-staff ratios are given in the table for universities, polytechnics and other establishments. Data are given for higher education (HE) and further education (FE) separately and together (ALL) for polytechnics and other establishments.
Column 309
Student:Staff ratios
England
Academic years 1978-79 to
1988-89
--------------------------
Polytechnics
Higher education
Further education
All
Other establishments (Note
Higher education
Further education
All
Universities (Great Britai
Notes:
1. Excludes voluntary and
direct grant colleges in
all years up to and
including 1987-88.
1988-89 includes those
former voluntary and
direct
grant colleges now funded
by the PCFC.
2. Source: Annual
Monitoring Survey for
polytechnics and other
establishments,
University Statistical
Record for universities.
Mr. Andrew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what number of higher education academic and non-academic staff have (a) taken early retirement and (b) accepted redundancy in each year since 1978-79 ; and what was the total cost to the Government for higher education academic and non-academic staff taking early retirement or accepting redundancy for each year since 1978-79 in (i) cash terms and (ii) real terms indexed so that 1978-79 equals 100.
Column 310
Mr. Alan Howarth : Available information for universities is shown in the table. This relates to claims met by the University Grants Committee and the Universities Funding Council for reimbursement of premature retirement and redundancy compensation since 1978-79. Information is not collected centrally about premature retirements and redundancies funded from universities' own resources.
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